Radhika Apte to star in Mohanlal, Lijo Jose film? Here’s what she has to say about her Mollywood return

Malayalam superstar Mohanlal and acclaimed filmmaker Lijo Jose Pellissery’s first collaboration could be the director’s biggest project yet and it seems the makers are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the movie is mounted on a grand scale.

The film, which is set to go on floors in January 2023, is produced by Shibu Baby John, under his banner John and Mary Creative along with Maxlabs and Century Films. Latest reports suggest that the team is planning to rope in Bollywood actress Radhika Apte as the female lead in the movie.

Also read: Exclusive! Radhika Apte on returning to Malayalam cinema: I would love to work with Fahadh Faasil again 

While the title of the movie is yet to be revealed, rumours suggest that Mohanlal essays the role of a wrestler and that it will be a period film. Lijo, however, is yet to officially confirm any of this.

If Radhika does come on board, this will be her second Malayalam movie after Haram, which had Fahadh Faasil in the lead. Earlier this year, in an exclusive interview with OTTPlay, Radhika had talked about making a comeback in Malayalam and expressed her wish to be part of the industry, which is “doing amazingly well”.

“I just feel that if they really want to cast me then, I need to get rehearsal time and really understand why I'm doing it,” she said, adding that there are currently several talented Malayalam actresses.

The actress, who had starred in the Bollywood remake of Tovino Thomas’ Forensic earlier this year and was last seen in Monica O My Darling, also said that if she is cast for a Malayalam movie now, she would want the time to learn the dialogues and don’t want to rush it, as the delivery would then be “a bit mindless”.

Considering that the pre-production of the movie is in full-swing and there’s still about two months to go before the film goes on floors, Radhika’s casting would serve to skyrocket the already high expectations for the movie.